Flight Tracking

Aviation News

Aviation Safety Network News

The Wright Brothers created the single greatest cultural force
since the invention of writing. The airplane became the first World
Wide Web, bringing people, languages, ideas, and values together. —
Bill Gates, CEO, Microsoft Corporation.

Man must rise above the Earth -- to the top of the atmosphere and
beyond -- for only thus will he fully understand the world in which
he lives. — Socrates

I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things
. . . — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I am not afraid of crashing, my secret is . . . just before we hit
the ground, I jump as high as I can. — Bill Cosby

Delta Airlines recently introduced a special half-fare rate for
wives accompanying their husbands on business trips. Anticipating
some valuable testimonials, the publicity department of the airline
sent out letters to all the wives of businessmen who used the
special rates, asking how they enjoyed their trip. Responses are
still pouring in asking, "What trip?"

The three worst things to hear in the cockpit: The second officer
says, "Oh shit!" The first officer says, "I have an idea!" The
captain says, "Hey, watch this!"

Humor

What is the cause of most aviation accidents: Usually it is because
someone does too much too soon, followed very quickly by too little
too late. — Steve Wilson, NTSB investigator, Oshkosh, WI , August,
1996

Although the B787 cockpit represents a major shift in development and design, it also is meant to provide commonality with the B777 flight deck, to facilitate transition training. (Boeing's goal is for B777 pilots to train no more than five days for B787 transition.) This commonality posed unique challenges for Collins. "One of the biggest challenges was the check lists; we wanted to make sure the check lists in the two aircraft are extremely common," says Irmen.

"The other area that's a challenge is the pilot controls," he adds. "We're working to make the feedback from the 787 controls feel the same as in the 777. In other words, we're working to duplicate the force feel curves for each axis: pitch, yaw and roll." Rockwell Collins Electroprecision in Irvine, Calif., is developing the B787 pilot controls.

A major distinction between the two aircraft cockpits is the display size. The B787 boasts five 15.1-inch diagonal, liquid crystal displays (LCDs)--twice as large as the B777's screens. The B787 will be the first commercial aircraft to be equipped with these large displays, although they may be installed in a government/military aircraft prior to the the Dreamliner's scheduled entry into operation in 2008. "We're working on another program on the government side," says Irmen, adding that he could provide no further details of potential display system orders.